CBEMT Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 As 82-year-old Helen Jackson lay dying, pinned to the metal grating of an MBTA escalator that clenched her scarf and hair, commuters walked past her toward the exit, either unaware of the dire circumstances or unwilling to get involved. A few good Samaritans intervened. One slammed the button that stopped the rising escalator. Another pleaded for any sort of help - scissors or even nail clippers to cut her free. Amid the muted chaos, a municipal security officer just outside the station radioed an emergency, then waited by his car for paramedics to arrive. Moments mattered, and in the end, as one middle-aged man crouched at the top of the escalator, holding Jackson's hand while urging her to keep breathing, her grip loosened, her hand fell away, and she died. She was pinned so tightly to the escalator grating that the man couldn't fit his fingers between her scarf and her neck. Two eyewitnesses, a father and his son, relayed these observations to the Globe, the fullest version yet of Jackson's death on an escalator at the State Street Station a little before 10 a.m. on Feb. 24. Although their account doesn't directly contradict any official reports, it adds a chilling level of detail to an elderly woman's final moments in a very public place. It also offers a sobering undertone, in the view of the witnesses, of a frustratingly casual response in a crowded place to a victim in dire need. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachus...ife_slips_away/ I should be surprised, but I'm not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Just one example of many regarding today’s society Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itku2er Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Well it has gotten to be a ME society and if it don't directly effect ME I am not doing anything. And too alot of people are scared of getting sued if they do help. So where is the happy medium in this world? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RatPack Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Just sad. Especially if true, the guard who sat idly by his car waiting the arrival of paramedics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krumel Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 We had the case here that during X-mas season an nice old man bought two bottles of (very expensive) read wine downtowns... When he left the shop he slipped at the stairs down to the subway... Well... cracked his skull, subdural bleeding... But: The two bottles of wine got shattered to pieces..So everyone thought he was"just another drunk"..Well... This subway entrance may be used by about 100.000 persons within one hour during the x-mas season..... As someone called my colleagues the poor old man was already hard frozen.... That's what we call a "modern society"??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arizonaffcep Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 (edited) My friend has a saying "do unto others before they do unto you." Never like it, but applicable for this thread. Edited March 10, 2009 by Arizonaffcep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepluv77 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 (edited) This is pathetic. So many people say we live in a "civilized society" and the "most advanced society on earth" etc. There is nothing civilized about this. I feel bad not only for the woman's family, but also for the 4 people that tried to help and have to live with this memory the rest of their lives. So many people look at someone in need as being a stranger/drunk/bum etc. What happened to that person being someone else's parent/spouse/child/friend etc.? You know if that was them or one of their loved ones they would expect help and be furious if they didn't get it. And I'm sure that guard wasn't the only guard around that day. If he was, that's pretty sad in and of itself in a place that busy. But we'll say he was and couldn't send another guard to see what was going on. Even so, 60 seconds of his lazy self walking to see what was going on could have been all it took to save her. He could have told dispatch the true nature of the situation and they may have sent a cop that was closer to help. He/she would have had a knife and been able to free the woman. He could have even radio the ticket office(or some office there) and they probably would have had scissors. Every person that turned there heads that day should be ashamed. In the nearby office buildings, on the platform, that guard. One more person could have made the difference. Also, why did the paper have to mention his criminal history? Was he not doing good at least on this day? And he ministers at a community center? I'm willing to bet it's been a long long time since he's been on the wrong side of the law. I'm also willing to bet that a lot of people found the justification they need to not stop if they should find themselves in such a situation. If they do, the paper will drag out all their skeletons in the closet. Edited March 10, 2009 by JessiR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireMedic65 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 People suck, that's about all I can say for situations like this and the people who just chose to ignore a person dying. Of course, there is always an exception to the rule of people suck. The majority of people are just, mean. For the 100 people that walk by the elderly lady trying to pick up her groceries that fell out of her bag on the street and just the one person who stopped to help her, doesn't necessarily make things right, but it is a start. Lead by example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emtannie Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 And I'm sure that guard wasn't the only guard around that day. If he was, that's pretty sad in and of itself in a place that busy. But we'll say he was and couldn't send another guard to see what was going on. Even so, 60 seconds of his lazy self walking to see what was going on could have been all it took to save her. He could have told dispatch the true nature of the situation and they may have sent a cop that was closer to help. He/she would have had a knife and been able to free the woman. He could have even radio the ticket office(or some office there) and they probably would have had scissors. I find the entire situation pathetic as well. People are so afraid of getting involved, for fear of being sued. They also just don't care. I find this thread interesting as if comes right after a discussion in chat regarding law enforcement having first aid. This is a perfect example of the reason law enforcement should have first aid. That security guard should be ashamed. In the interest of public safety, he did nothing. I am certain that he was not the only security guard on duty. He could have assisted the bystander who was attempting to save the woman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustdevil Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I honestly don't think a fear of being sued had anything to do with this. The common man on the street doesn't generally have that same paranoia that so many EMS personnel seem to have. In fact, I see it much more commonly in EMS personnel than any other persons in American society. Those people were scared, but not of a lawsuit. They were scared that they didn't know what to do. They didn't know what was wrong with the woman. They just knew she was down, and that they had no training or knowledge of how to help. Secondarily, a lot of others simply were too selfish to stop. Didn't want to miss their train. But I seriously doubt that any thought of being sued crossed a single one of their minds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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